Supervisors discuss joint drainage issue

December 19, 2012

The Emmet County Board of Supervisors Tuesday discussed a drainage issue with a landowner, taking up the matter later in the same meeting with the county drainage attorney.

Bud Schnell asked that DD#44 be cleaned, an issue that supervisor Jon Martyr, who's been working with Schnell on the matter, later took up with Rich Meyer, the county's drainage attorney.

Martyr said the state had acquired private property to the south of Schnell from a private landowner, and that a perpetual federal easement existed on the property. While the county had cleaned out DD#44 on Schnell's property, Martyr said Schnell was now requesting that property to the south be cleaned out, part of which is on the state ground.

Meyer asked if an engineer could check the ditch to determine whether it needed cleaning, and Martyr said the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, which owns the property, did its own engineer's report which determined nothing had changed over the last 15 years. Martyr said the DNR said if the county could show that something needs to be done, it would fix the ditch.

Meyer suggested the board might be obtain an engineer's report. Supervisor Ron Smith said the actual cleanout would likely cost less than the report.

Meyer suggested an engineer's report might be a good idea anyway.

"At least then you've got something to hang your hat on," said Meyer. "If it does need cleaning, now's the time to do it."